Neighbour's horses hard on shared fence

[Adviceforanalter]

Looking for some what would you do advice…

We bought a small hobby farm that needs a lot of work and are on a budget and trying to tackle the most pressing needs first as we can.

Our property shares one fence line with a narrow strip that is an unused easement into another property (neighbour A). On the other side of the easement is neighbour B. Since A was not using the easement, B got permission to run their animals on it. They got permission from A and the previous owners of our property to put up a fence between our property and A to contain their animals, essentially treating the easement as an extension of their property B.

When we moved in, neighbour B was clear that since the fence is between our property and A, and A doesn’t use the easement, the fence is our problem, and definitely not theirs since it doesn’t touch any of their property even though they are the one who paid to put it up. In our area, there are no setback requirements for fences unless they are super tall.

Now the issue is that that B rents the field (a combination of this easement and their own property) out to someone who keeps horses on it. It’s a low 4’ fence with posts and 4x4 wire. The kind of fence I would not trust to keep my horses in and that would be a disaster as a shared fence imho.

I’ve mainly just ignored this fence as it’s at the back of our property and we have bigger things to worry about. My horse paddock fence is on our own property and there is about a 6 foot gap between that fence and the paddock fence. The horses sometimes hang out together near the fence line but can’t touch obviously. My paddock fence has electric run top and bottom and my horses are very respectful of it.

However this morning I saw the neighbour horse reaching over the fence to eat grass on my side of the property and was leaning on that fence pretty hard and popped the top of it off one post and another post is pretty wobbly and unstable. Basically that fence is is very poor repair, those horses are hard on it and it just keeps deteriorating.

Since the fence is keeping the neighbour’s horses in, I figure it’s their problem. But DH wants to make it our problem since he’s concerned about their horses getting on to our property. However I really don’t think it’s a good use of our limited resources to start maintaining or replacing horse suitable fencing to keep horses out. That stuff isn’t cheap as you all well know and I have plenty of fencing I need to do to keep my own horses in and safe to worry about already.

Am I being too nonchalant about this? DH thinks this needs to move to the top of our priority list and I don’t really agree. At best I think we should stay on top of mowing that fence line so those horses don’t have any reason to lean over it and leave it at that. And maybe perhaps look at planting some hedging on our side of the property line to add even more of a buffer?

[Simkie]

The easiest thing to do here is probably to make that fence hot hot hot. Maybe you can discuss sharing the cost with the people who own the horses.

You could just yank it all out–since it’s on your property and no one else wants to maintain it–but that doesn’t solve the problem of the horses being on your property, and would likely make things difficult with the neighbors.

Having a perimeter fence does benefit you, so not unreasonable to put a modicum of maintenance into it.

[mmeqcenter]

Agreed with Simkie, you really have three choices. Electrifying that fence so they stay off it, put in all new fence, or remove the fence altogether. You can think the neighbor should do it all you want, but they’ve already said they’re not going to, and it’s on your property, not theirs, so they have no obligation to.

The joys of dealing with previous property owner’s poor decisions.

[beowulf]

[clanter]

we had a similar issue with a neighbor whose horses destroyed one 300 foot section of common fence line that we paid for.

This neighbor was pretty much a real jerk.

Living in a city does have an advantage, since we had paid for the fence we just built a new fence ten feet inside the older fence, then removed our old fence. When neighbor horses crossed onto our property I just called animal control to let them deal with this jerk.

Neighbor ended up installing a six foot high stockade fence which was fine for me as we did not have to look at them (a few years later they divorced, sold the property to settle the divorce)

[trubandloki]

All good posts above.

In your situation, with a limited budget and no plans to use this fence line for your horses, I would look into making what is there hot, so the horses are not leaning over it.
This can be done without using too much of your budget.
Adding an insulator to each fence post (you can buy them for all kinds of posts) and one strand of electric at the top, then connect it to your charger (assuming your charger is sized for the added length).
Then stand back and enjoy the show when these horses lean over the fence the first time.

[Sdel]

Word of warning……

Since they are already being difficult, and it sounds like you have “that neighbor”, I would expect them to have a gigantic meltdown about you “electrocuting” their horses if you add hot wire to the fence. Be prepared to deal with that.

[Janet]

I would talk to a lawyer.
Who OWNS the strip of property on which the easment exists?
Presumably not A, since, if they owned it they would not need an easement
Presumably not B, since they would not need to get permission from the previos owners of your property.

Usually an easement creates permission to use the property for a SPECIFIC purpose. If the easement is for “access”, then it does not give permission to use it for pasture.

[Sdel]

@Janet

Usually an easement creates permission to use the property for a SPECIFIC purpose. If the easement is for “access”, then it does not give permission to use it for pasture.

Yes, this. I’d also want to check the records to see if it’s an official easement or if it is a courtesy that can be revoked, which could be a decent bargaining chip to deal with unreasonableness.

Another thing that might come into play: is the OP’s state/area fence in, or fence out? It can impact who has the responsibility for loose animals.

[Foxglove]

Had a problem with neighbor’s horses chewing on my wooden fence posts (hot wire on my side of posts between pastures). My solution was to install “pig tails” on both sides of the fence, running a hot wire from my transformer along neighbor’s side. I told him I was going to do it, and he said, “Thank you.” I pretty much get pie, fresh bread, or garden produce from them brought to my door once or twice a month ever since. I think my out-lay was about $15 in pig tail offset insulators.

PigTail Offset Insulators

[axl]

Isn’t there something about having granted them access (which it doesn’t sound like you did) it is hard to revoke? I think you may need a lawyer so they don’t somehow acquire permanent use of the easement as pasture.

I’m just regurgitating some info I have halfway learned on these forums, though.

[FjordBCRF]

@axl

Isn’t there something about having granted them access (which it doesn’t sound like you did) it is hard to revoke? I think you may need a lawyer so they don’t somehow acquire permanent use of the easement as pasture.

I’m just regurgitating some info I have halfway learned on these forums, though.

If it’s an easement, the easement (I believe) follows the piece property and not the owners who made the initial agreement.

Sorry you’re in this pickle OP, bad neighbors are the worst.

[luvmyhackney]

Bad neighbors suck.

Consult with an attorney, some areas have weird easement laws.

Personally, I’d send certified mail that the fence is getting removed on “x” date since it’s on your property and you are concerned about x,y,z. Then as @clanter said call animal control if the horses come on your property.

They can build their own fence on their side of the property.

[SusanO]

You can put up step-in posts and hot wire on your side of the shared fence line since I assume you have enough of your property to run this on without being on their property. This is cheap, easy to put up, portable and effective. The only big expense is a solar charger. All of this can be used elsewhere. If you can put it next to the ramshackle fence and high enough the neighbor’s horses will be discouraged from sticking their heads over and grazing. Plus it is hard for a horse to get much leverage in fence pushing if they can’t get their head over the fence and use their shoulders to push. A good zap usually discourages this. If it is on your property then the neighbors can’t really complain if their trespassing horses get shocked.

[Djones]

Yes who owns the easement ( easement owner= EO)? The purpose of one is access, so how it is actually serving as one?

If B built it on EO’s land and is letting others use that fence to contain said horses, then that fence is B’s problem, not yours. Do not touch, alter, make hot, the fence that B built.

I would run step in posts and HOT tape about a foot away from, and parallel to, Bs fence line. Those horses can’t physically graze over that double fence line onto your property. It’s one stretch of fence with a t post at each end. It won’t cost that much and those materials will be useful in the future for projects and temp fence, etc…

[LilRanger]

It sounds like the easement is through B’s property, subservient to A’s property. If that’s the case, op, I agree the hot fence, in what ever permutation is probably easiest. When you have the funds for a new fence, go ahead and ask A of you can take a few get on the easement of you pay for the fence. Or offer to fence off their easement from B, and use until they want access back.

[Annie10]

I agree with investigating the easement where it came from what it’s for etc. and whose property it’s on and all of that. And then my first choice would be if possible just rip it out and tell them they need to put up their own fence and then go the animal control route like other said. And if you don’t want to do that, then I would make it hot as a firecracker.

[mmeqcenter]

[Bluey]

Whatever you do, do it asap.

If enough time has passed with that situation, there may be a claim of adverse possession.
Get all that cleared out, who owns that land, who the fence, who has what easement and what that contract specifies.
Then you will know what you can and need to do legally, on your end.

Also always have a perimeter fence on the property line, not offset for any reason, or, again, you may lose that area of yours fenced off your property if others then use and claim it. after a laws determined time.

[CHT]

Have you ever met or talked to the horse owner? We were having trouble with our neighbour’s horses doing the same thing, and it turned out they didn’t know their horses were leaning on our fence as it was out of their sight. Once we brought up the issue, they added a wood rail to the top of the fence which resolved the issue at zero cost to us. I agree that adding electric fence would be the easiest prevention though, but I wouldn’t do it without at least talking to the horse owners or property owner first.